The President Is Missing

#1 New York TimesBestseller#1 USA Today Bestseller#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller#1 Indie Bestseller“President Duncan for a second term!” –-USA Today“This book’s a big one.” —New York Times “Towers above most political thrillers.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“The plotting is immaculate . . . the writing is taut.” –-Sunday Times (London)“Ambitious and wildly readable.” —New York Times Book Review

The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view . . .

Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation. Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.

Reader Reviews

Video Transcript

President Bill Clinton: Hi, I’m President Bill Clinton. That impressive looking fellow is James Patterson.

James Patterson: Well, thank you. President Clinton and I have written a novel together, it’s called THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING. It’s about a United States President who’s involved in a terrifying world crisis and goes missing. Sound dramatic? It is.

President Bill Clinton: I’m not going to spoil the suspense and tell you where the president is or why he’s missing. In other words, you have to read THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING to find out the ending. I think that’s more than fair.

James Patterson: I agree. But we will tell you this much. THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING will take you right into the White House. This novel will make you feel the impossible decisions, the stress, the dangers out there in today’s world. And the importance of the American presidency.

President Bill Clinton: Being president is a profound honor, but it can also be the most difficult job in the world. Because every day brings something new, and it’s not all good.

James Patterson: The following cliché happens to be true about THE PRESIDENT IS MISSING: you absolutely, positively, will not put this novel down. It’s full of twists and turns, kind of like being president.

Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992, and he served until 2001. After leaving the White House, he established the Clinton Foundation, which helps improve global health, increase opportunity for girls and women, reduce childhood obesity and preventable diseases, create economic opportunity and growth, and address the effects of climate change. He is the author of a number of nonfiction works, including My Life, which was a #1 international bestseller. The President is Missing is his first novel.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author, best known for his many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove to everyone, from children to adults, that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over a million books to schoolkids and over forty million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

"It's a go-to read. It maximizes
its potency and fulfills its mission. There's a twist or two of which Frederick
Forsyth might be proud. So, if you want to make the most of your
late-capitalist leisure-time, hit the
couch, crack a Bud, punch the book open, focus your squint, and enjoy."

"This book moves like Air Force One. Big and fast. Clinton and Patterson are a dream combo. Two great storytellers, one inside and one outside, both at the top of the game. They've put together an undeniably gripping ride through the hidden passageways of power and politics. This book teaches as much as it entertains."—Michael Connelly, #1 bestselling author of the Ballard and Bosch series

"The pages
of The President Is Missing are filled with the classic tropes of a big commercial thriller . . . but
the authors resist pure escapism . .
. The pleasure of this book is in imagining the wild tales Clinton might
disclose about his own years as President, if only he could."—Time

"Marry the political savvy of Bill Clinton with the craftsmanship of James Patterson and you get a fabulously entertaining thriller that is meticulous in its portrayal of Washington politics, gripping in its pacing, and harrowing in its depiction of the perils of cyberwarfare. This dark tale is, at bottom, a warning and a prophecy about the mortal threats to our democracy posed by terrorists abroad, homegrown extremism, and the technological miracles that have rendered us both powerful and defenseless at once." —Ron Chernow, #1 bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Grant

"The novel's accelerated pace of
action is one of the novel's strongest assets, along with a roster of intriguing characters . . . a clever, brave
and moral leader that any free nation would be lucky to have at the helm."—Columbus Dispatch

"The President Is Missing is heart-pounding, gripping, terrifying. As I read, ferociously turning the pages, I kept asking myself, 'Could this really happen?' Bill Clinton's insight into the pressures of being president and life in the White House coupled with James Patterson's chops as an action writer have combined to give us a genuinely masterful thriller. My knuckles are still white!" —Louise Penny, #1 bestselling author of Glass Houses

"Bill Clinton and James Patterson seamlessly craft a heady thriller revealing the razor-thin edge between policy and ambition, politics and patriotism. They provide a front-row seat to the inner workings of our political system, a plot that is frighteningly plausible, and a cast of complex characters--both men and women--who all have their own stake to claim. The result: a fast-paced summer read you'll see on planes, trains, and every beach across the country and around the world."—Walter Mosley, bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins series

"The President Is Missing is a big, splashy juggernaut of a novel, combining thrills with a truly authentic look at the inner happenings in Washington. I read it in one gulp. You will too."—Harlan Coben, #1 bestselling author of Don't Let Go

"The combination of Patterson's lightning pace and Clinton's tantalizing inside knowledge of how terrorists operate is what make this timely novel so vivid, engrossing--and authentically frightening."—Carl Hiaasen, bestelling author of Razor Girl

"From the pens of two American icons comes a political thriller that rocks. The President Is Missing entertains, educates, and inspires us all to put our country above our politics. Bill Clinton delivers the art of government and James Patterson delivers the art of writing. The reader gets a helluva story."—Nelson DeMille, #1 bestselling author of The Cuban Affair

"Truth hides on every page in this fiction--scary, remarkable truth that can only come from the ultimate insider. The President Is Missing is more than a book, it's a skeleton key that lets you inside the head of a U.S. president. What a surprising treat."—Brad Meltzer, #1 bestselling author of The Escape Artist

"The President Is Missing ticks every box for top-notch thriller writing: A relentlessly fast plot, utterly unexpected reversals and twists, a compelling--and a thoroughly human--hero, and a searing and honest examination of issues that strike close to our hearts as Americans in this day and age. Bravo, James Patterson and Bill Clinton!" —Jeffrey Deaver, bestselling author of The Bone Collector and The Cutting Edge

"A bullet train of a thriller, power-fueled by equal parts adrenaline and expertise. Timely, furiously paced, and crackling with authenticity, it's The Day of the Jackal for the 21st century."—A. J. Finn, #1 bestselling author of The Woman in the Window